Gerry Cardinale stood in front of a room full of reporters Wednesday and said the quiet part out loud: He had been a hands-off owner, and those days are over. The AC Milan chairman didn’t just introduce new head coach Ruben Amorim at the press conference. He basically announced a complete overhaul of how the club operates from the top down.
Here’s the backstory. The day after Milan’s 2025-26 season ended, Cardinale cleaned house in one sweeping move. Head coach Massimiliano Allegri, sporting director Igli Tare, technical director Geoffrey Moncada and CEO Giorgio Furlani were all let go. One club statement, four departures. That’s not normal even by Serie A standards.
The Amorim hire was the easy part
Since that purge, Milan moved fast. They agreed terms with Amorim, the former Manchester United and Sporting CP manager, to take over as head coach. He’ll work alongside a restructured front office that includes Massimo Calvelli as CEO, Hendrik Almstadt and Bobby Gardiner in supporting roles. But the bigger story might be how Cardinale got here.
“We packed six months’ worth of meetings into a month,” Cardinale said at the introductory presser. “In normal circumstances, you go for head of football, sporting director, and then a coach. For the first time in my ownership, my jumping in to be a much more hands-on owner, the first thing I decided to do was to really look at the coaching position.”
Cardinale was spotted arriving at Milan’s training ground Tuesday alongside Amorim. By Wednesday they were sitting side by side in front of cameras. It was fast, maybe even rushed. But Cardinale framed it as intentional.
What Cardinale wants from Amorim
He made it clear what kind of soccer he expects. “We’re going to play to win,” Cardinale said. “We’re not going to play not to lose. That means we want a football style that fits that objective. And that is a high press, high possession, attacking style of football. It’ll be an exciting style of football, fun to watch, and high scoring.”
Amorim nodded along. He’s coming off a stint at Manchester United that had ups and downs, but his work at Sporting CP built the reputation that got him here. Milan is betting he can replicate that attacking identity in Italy.
Cardinale also made a point about culture. “I’ve been hands off in my ownership, so a wake up call for everybody is those days are over. I’m here, I’m now, I’m responsible, but I have a great team around me.” He emphasized that Calvelli’s move into the CEO role was deliberate. “I’ve taken one of my best guys and moved him into AC Milan. We’re putting our money where our mouth is.”
What remains to be seen is whether Amorim can adapt to Serie A quickly enough. The league is notoriously tactical, and Milan fans are famously impatient. Cardinale said he “couldn’t be more thrilled” to start this chapter with Amorim. The question now is whether the fans will feel the same way by November.
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